. >> reporter: vice president biden made a rare appearance in the senate, not to negotiate -- >> i do. >> congratulations, senator. >> reporter: but to swear in a new democratic senator from hawaii. a vote the white house will need if the senate ever gets around to voting on a plan to avert the fiscal cliff. in the house, even less going on. the only hopeful words, from the house chaplain, looking for some divine help. >> as this chamber lies silent, still, we pray for hope. >> reporter: without agreement soon, nearly everybody takes a hit. a schoolteacher with two kids and a salary of $43,000, for example, will face a tax hike of more than $3,000. members of congress helped get us into this mess and they'll pay, too, with incomes of $174,000, they'll pay some $7,500 more in taxes. as for the super rich? well, consider basketball phenom lebron james. he makes about $53 million. could see his taxes go up by more than $2.4 million next year alone. and it's not just taxes. on january 1st, unemployment benefits expire for some 2 million people. >> we're joins here in new york by jon karl.